Today marks the worldwide premiere of the music video for “A Place With No Name” – the latest Michael Jackson single from Epic Records and their ‘XSCAPE’ album.

The video – set to an edited down version of Stargate’s “A Place With No Name” remix – attempts to pay homage to Jackson’s 1992 short film for “In The Closet”. The production samples visuals from “In The Closet” as well as outtakes and behind-the-scenes footage shot during the making of the clip.

Following a series of unimaginative music videos for previously-released posthumous singles, Jackson’s fans held hope that the detailed lyrical storyline of “A Place With No Name” would be visually represented in the new short film – directed by renowned video director Samuel Bayer.

“The idea is to take it a step forward and to innovate, otherwise why else am I doing it?” explained Jackson in a 1999 interview about his short films. “I don’t wanna be just another can in the assembly line, you know? I want to create; to do something that’s totally different and unusual.”

“In my opinion it has to be completely entertaining and have a linear sense of continuity. I like having a beginning, a middle, and an ending so you can follow a story and not just be a collage of images… Usually it’s an interpretation of the music.”

The Estate of Michael Jackson and Epic Records added to that hope with their press release days before the premiere, saying that “Michael re-envisioned America’s 1972 classic ‘A Horse With No Name’ to convey a narrative following a man whose car breaks down and is led by a mysterious woman to a utopian place where ‘no one is in fear’ and ‘no people have pain’,” adding that the video “has been created by following Michael’s overall vision for short films which tell the song’s story.”

Unfortunately for fans, and for Jackson’s legacy as the master of short films, this clip is not representative of the mystical narrative the song portrays. Instead of being taken to an otherworldly place with grass, birds, flowers and trees (as sung by Jackson in the song) – similar to something you might see in a film like Avatar – we see a collection of images reminiscent of scenes from Baywatch, with a good-looking couple dancing in the desert and at the beach – places that don’t have the kinds of nature the song dictates.

Clips of Jackson from the “In The Closet” short film are spliced in to give the singer presence in the final product. As beautiful as he looks in the shots, they often seem out of place. Musicality and timing was always extremely important to Jackson when editing his own short films, however the dancing segments in “A Place With No Name” are often out of time with the audio.

There is very little, if any imagination as far as scripting goes, and the newly included visuals could have easily been filmed on a smartphone camera and edited using iMovie. Strangely, the last two lines of the song’s lyrics have also been edited out.

Watch the official “A Place With No Name” music video below:

The video was tweeted by the official Michael Jackson Twitter account immediately following a special MJ-themed episode of So You Think You Can Dance, which included duo performances of “The Way You Make Me Feel”, “Dirty Diana”, “Wanna Be Startin’ Something”, “Xscape”, “Slave To The Rhythm”, “Smile”, “She’s Out Of My Life”, “Earth Song” and a group performance to the new single “A Place With No Name”. As a result of the telecast both “Earth Song” and “Dirty Diana” trended on Twitter.

To debut the “A Place With No Name” music video via Twitter and ensure that fans had to visit the social networking site to view it, the clip was embedded into a media player within the @MichaelJackson account’s tweet itself. This, however, has become quite a nuisance for myself, and other fans, who have had issues with the clip lagging and even stopping every few seconds. The second time I personally tried to play it the media player crashed altogether.

As well as its Twitter debut at 10PM ET, the “A Place With No Name” video was shown simultaneously on the Sony big screens in Times Square, New York City. See below:

World Premiere of “A Place With No Name” music video in NYC’s Times Square.

83 Comments

It’s absolutely astounding how inept the leaders of the estate have been. Even if all the pawns could care less about legacy, even with their priorities on monetary profits they continue to drop the ball. What an incredibly missed opportunity. A joke. Bayer can rest his laurels on his Nirvana credit, apparently a fluke because he had nothing better and the Teen Spirit low budget was destined to fall in place spontaneously and worked perfectly at a perfect era. But this amateurish Jeep commercial is beyond trite and mediocre. It’s really pathetic and unworthy of one of the greatest entertainer and visionaries of all time. Samuel Bayer and the estate should be embarrassed. I’m sure there will be plenty of patronization within your circles, but this video will go unnoticed because it is insignificant.

Totally agree… what Michael Jackson’s image and music have to do with the Jeep brand is beyond me and apparently 99.9% of Jeep fans seem to agree. This add campaign can’t run its course soon enough! The King Of Pop’s final recordings should’ve been put to much better respectful use… RIP Michael!

Totally agree… do not give them any ideas! What Michael Jackson’s image and music have to do with the Jeep brand is beyond me and apparently 99.9% of Jeep fans seem to agree. This add campaign can’t run its course soon enough! The King Of Pop’s final recordings should’ve been put to much better respectful use… RIP Michael!

I am speechless! It looks to me like some blokes holiday video when he got lucky on a beach in Tenerife There probably will not be another time when they could do video of MJs music. Why not get a director with some imagination like DannyBoyle or Ainge Lee, more expensive maybe but worth it in the end. Just goes to show what a genius our Michael was. Pity they cannot scratch the whole thing and start again. Was it said they went to the Vaults for shots of “in the lCloset” Can get all that on you-tube. Michael has not stopped spinning since he was laid to rest!

I hate this video… As a fan for 31 years I was expecting something glossy, innovative and fitting to the King of pop’s legacy… It isn’t. It looks cheap. It looks like a promotional video for a second rate vacation… Disappointed – I wanted colour, animation…

this is so dissappointing, the lyrics of the song were not at all in this video, it looked like a summer jeep commercial, I expected to see so much more, the song was about a place where there was Love and no pain, not what they showed.

While the video was a major letdown (as to be expected) younger generations probably won’t critique it as bad as us major fans. It wasn’t god awful terrible, just weak. I think it’s safe to assume that unless they have one last trick up their sleeve, Xscape has run it’s course. I don’t see “a place with no name” really taking off on radio from this point on. Sad to say but without MJ or creative ideas from the estate, there’s not much else to really draw non-fans in. Who knows, maybe they’ll surprise us one more time, but it’s doubtful.

“The beautifully shot short film … following Michael’s overall vision for short films …”

To sell cars? Give me a break.

There’s a reason Michael didn’t have myriad endorsement deals during his lifetime, even though he could’ve easily signed with any company under the sun. With Pepsi, he brought the magic of his short films to the advertisement. It wasn’t the other way around. Can you imagine such blatant product placement in the “Thriller” or “Smooth Criminal” short films?

An uninspired video to accompany a song that already was almost complete and did not need to be “contemporized.”

Just look at old clips on you tube of mj and remember the electricity this man once had. Forget what the estate releases. One shite too many. I expect no magic from them. If you want to make Branca rich, carry on buying future shite releases.

Excellent point.
And every frame even in the Pepsi campaign was accounted for. Even to the degree that Michael demanded fewer frames of his own face to preserve his mystique. Less was more, EVEN his own image. he acutely knew the power of mystique, anticipation, the story, and the climax.

So sorry. Dreadful. Unimaginative. Cheap “special vortex” effects, illogic editing… I could go on and on.
New next “MJ short film” NEEDS really great director like David Fincher, Mark Romanek or Spike Jonze with a STUNNING CONCEPT.
But of course it’s only my dream because it will cost a fortune to estate…..
Too bad…

Heath Claiborne first post took the words right out of my mouth. I mean look Walt Disney is dead but the carry on releasing films in his spirit. This is not even a video. I expected a lot better. I think this video has finally confirmed beyond any doubt that the estate has no interest in building a legacy. Depressing. I mean look what the estate has done:

Bad wembly concert (looked like a bootleg off you tube)
Michael (controversy over whether he sang on certain tracks, an album cover painting where his eyes look odd)
Xscape (made contemporary, but I say remixed by shit producers, a grainy cover designed by some amateur)

We are just making the estate rich. Dont bother buying the shit they release.

The video is presicely what MJ said he never wanted his videos to be. There is no middle no beginning and no end. Just a collage of images. I just hope they didn’t break the bank with the concentric throbbing circles graphic! That must have took hours to make.

This comment makes little sense unless it came directly from Samuel Bayer, assistant Andrea Ball, or another assistant for Samuel Bayer. Even discriminating audience can easily realize this is a low grade, amateurish, TRITE, commercial. It has no “innovative storytelling technique” as Andrea says on her bio:

I can see L.A. Reid playing Chrysler CMO Olivier Francois the song now…. “My JEEP began to rock”…. that’s it ! I’ll take it I’ll take it…
Basically Francois throws millions at music placements- Eminem, Pharrell Williams, Lenny Kravitz. What was Bayer’s and his assistants pay check on this uncreative piece of crap.

Hey Francois, Reid, Branca…. Give me the opportunity to make a video for A Place With No Name, I PROMISE to produce a short film that is innovative and creative, and honor’s MJ’s legacy, and I will do it for FREE.
You don’t have to give millions to prima donna gimcracks in Los Angeles or Madison disconnected from what’s real, all wrapped up and flattering themselves.
Honor a legacy AND make money-there’s a earth shattering idea!
REDO this music video and make it worthy.

I’m still scratching my head over this one. It’s like Bayer just took a quick easy paycheck and handed over a rushed commercial production to a few assistants. I mean this is Michael Jackson. What on earth happened???
It seems the project was given to Bayer simply for a lower budget commercial. When I really dissect Bayer’s body of work, I see no significant innovation.
Smells Like a Teen Spirit was at the right time and right place- fluke young luck. It’s an incredible video, but I don’t see creative genius, I see low budget spontaneity and the stars aligned. Bayer has ridden that meal ticket since. Kurt Cobain’s death actually helped Bayer’s Hollywood cred…”yeah duuude, Nirvana man”. How mythic is Nirvana and that video without the tragedy. It’s the James Dean effect. Young dumb rockers particularly eat up this kind of bull****.
On Boulevard of Dreams Bayer basically rubbed and scratched film with a cigarette…ooooh.. that good enough reason for MTV to give him a video award… same type of people who give Oscars for retardation roles love this kind of crap…excuse me, I mean “innovation.”
To Bayer’s a credit, there is some solid production in his body of work. The Black Parade was a terrific video in my opinion. There are also some very good commercials.
I don’t know, I just don’t get the effort or purpose on Place With No Name. It’s so lazy and bad, it seems it was truly just a song placement for an ad campaign contract. Was Bayer smoking a joint in the bathroom while a young assistant put in the vortex effects?
I am just struggling at the ineptitude. Is the estate and Francois really this stupid? Surely not. There has to be a back story. Throw out the legacy issue, how does this promotion sell Jeeps? C’mon
Who knew who, and why choose the Bayer studio for this kind of opportunity for an innovative short film. Where is the nerdy, artsy, CGI, visionary director on this one?
My possibly unfair judgement of Bayer is that he is the stereotypical L.A. poser with a luxury sports car, cigarettes and tank top, bed head and ripped jeans that cost 3 times more than a nice pair of slacks-lots p of effort trying to look “hard” Like his art exhibit of nude model photos in triptychs- the typical unimagintive, artsy-fartsy goto of someone trying to be “artsy.” I can just see the superficial setting at that one.
Take away Teen Spirit and what do you really have? Where is the innovation and originality. Where is the vision? I just don’t get this choice directing for a music video unless it was never intended to be a short film but an ad.
Michael always surrounded himself with innovators. He was gifted at spotting winners and potential, often in the most common places. They were sometimes the most grounded, normal, unostentatious, even nerdy individuals, but it was their unique creative talents that mattered.

I understand exactly how you feel, I am perplexed. Unlike previous posthumous videos which where just not up to mjs standards but where still professionally made, this one is really bad. Almost like they had gone out of their way to make it bad. Maybe Bayer made a really good short film for “place with no name” but then lost the film reels and had to put the video that the public saw together at the last minute. I really would like to be a fly on the wall and understand how the estate recruits or decides who will direct the video. Do they interview several directors and ask for video concepts. Or is it just a matter of googling wedding film makers and asking them to direct a mj video (oops, sorry I meant a jeep commercial).

If you read a Samuel Bayer bio, the first laurel always listed is Smells Like Teen Spirit. Cobain did not even like Bayer’s final edit and personally oversaw a re-edit of the video that resulted in the final version you now know. Ironically that song and album is what knocked off Dangerous at number 1 on the Billboard 200. If you read Bayer’s wiki, it already has Michael Jackson listed as the first credit. Everyone wants to tout that MJ cred. Full circle.

And I assume you put MJ first because everyone puts MJ first.
Everyone wants to tout that cred, but Michael would have never accepted this video. It’s the holy grail of credits giving to a sub par trackvertisment. Bayer has a dozens of commercials better than that. I realize that is a speculative statement, but I ask anyone who worked with Michael what they think about this video.

I’m amazed at the negativity you people continue to spew. What were you expecting to be released? If you actually think we’re getting something as high of a standard as Thriller (which IMO is VERY overrated), you’re an idiot.

Michael isn’t here to promote the music, or the videos. He’s not here to put in his 2 cents. Nothing will be as good as what Michael ever did. With that said, this video is NOT the worst thing the estate or Sony has ever done..not by a long shot. In my opinion, this video is one of the better posthumous videos done. I’ll take this over Hollywood Tonight, Love Never Felt So Good or Behind The Mask anyday. At least with this one, there’s some kind of story to it. The other ones are just a bunch of second rate dancers doing half assed Michael Jackson dance moves.

Seriously you people need to lighten up. Isn’t there ANYTHING you people don’t complain about? I bet the estate could release footage of MJ recording a song in the studio next, and you all will still find something to bitch about.

It’s getting old and getting annoying. Just be glad we’re getting something. Sony and the estate could have easily told the fans to F off, and not release anything.

While nothing will be as good as what Michael did, or could have done, that doesn’t mean that nothing can be good without Michael. I agree this is one of the better videos they’ve come out with. But it’s towards the top of a pile of crap. It’s still crap. Making excuses for lame and unimaginative videos and accepting them based on the premise that Michael is dead is the reason they’ll continue to produce sub-par products. They’ve got most fans right where they want them; backed into a corner waving their white flags and admitting defeat screaming “be grateful, at least we’re getting something! Of course it’s not going to be great without Michael!” Not me. Never! Michael deserves fans that will stand and fight for quality.

If the estate released footage of Michael recording in the studio, I would not bitch. As a matter of fact, I probably would not get an opportunity because the rapture will probably occur at that very moment.
Eric, Jeep has some good incentives and rebate offers this month.

If the estate released footage of Michael recording in the studio, I would not bitch. As a matter of fact, I probably would not get an opportunity because the rapture will probably occur at that very moment.
BTW, Jeep has some good incentives and rebate offers this month.

Eric I do not buy this. Look Walt Disney is dead but they did not say look hes dead so the Disney company will never make anything that good again. They kept his legacy and built on his name and brand. Leave alone the fact that we do not have MJ. the lighting was awful. Cinematography, shite, editing, shite. The actors shite. The storyline in the video, no existance. You do not need mj to create a video with a storyline. The set (a beach) shite. This has nothing to do with fans expecting another Thriller, just a video that was visually stunning would have been enough. Look at Avatar, Alice in wonderland, a lot can be created that would keep MJs spirit in the videos even though hes not with us. This is how Disney carried on. “Just be glad we get something”….. I do not agree with this. Imagine Disney releasing some shite low budget animated film and saying look just be glad you are getting something, walt is no longer with us. I keep bringing Disney into this because the brand and the legacy can be built upon and made stronger even though the person is gone. But MJs estate do not have the calibre of people that can do this.

I have just finished watching the video again. It really sucks. I am not being negative. It is really poorly made. The footage of MJ would be better suited in a Dangerous 25 documentary. Such a great vision in the song, but not realised on the video.

I agree on some points in this article. But without MJ here I feel no one should be allowed to (or even think of) pursue MJ’s style of making short films for his music that is to pen a story line for his songs which can have so many different meanings and possibilities. And only MJ portrays his songs the BEST with that awesome imagination of his. So IMO, the directors today should steer clear of even thinking of trying to do something like what MJ did. Its called having respect for the other artist’s craft. As this is a POSTHUMOUS release, and before heavily criticising it lets just see what we’ve got. The song, which has some seriously good lyrics has a different kind of interpretation for each and everyone. DS imagines Avatar like place, some others imagine a utopian land, I personally imagine god’s greatest gifts..just nature at its best (mountainside, the sea, just some breathtaking visuals of beautiful places on this planet WHICH we get a glimpse of the scenery flashing in the video) and MJ also hints about the place to be love between couples (hint:- Listen to “Break of Dawn”). Now fans also wanted some unseen footages of MJ. So the director did the next best thing which is make a collage of visuals and connect MJ’s footage (him in the desert) with it. By having a “story line” won’t agree with everyone’s way of imagining it. Some would start complaining “There should be an utopian land” or “they should have used animation”. Sadly, not everyone can be satisfied. I loved the video because of the glimpses of nature, MJ and the couple. Nature is a place with no name, MJ’s music is escapism and love (between the couples) obviously takes you to a place where you are happy and have no fear. Its a beautiful connection and those who can see it, appreciate it. For those who don’t or just don’t want to need to get past the negativity. Story line videos especially when its MJ’s songs are only cool when MJ HIMSELF does it (I even found “Hollywood Tonight” very cheesy and mediocre).

Look, you can make a dog turd sandwich and tell me about the delicious slices of fresh baked bread, but I’m still going to hurl it out.
One can put a positive spin on most anything but it is not even a music video. That’s what they told you it was. It was a trackvertisment. There are McDonalds commercials I am sure many fat asses made a beautiful connection with.

What do you think of the unreleased “Behind The Mask” video from 2011? I personally feel the numerous MJ tie-ins, such as the “Speed Demon” mask and the robot-transformer Moonwalker face, are clever. I like that the MJ clips appear as reflections and are subtle – unlike these bland tribute-like videos that seem to be an advert screaming “MJ IS DEAD!” The footage in the “Behind The Mask” clip makes sense in the scheme of the video and they’ve done well with what they had access to given that Michael is no longer here to film new contributions.

Behind the Mask was a good video, if it is the one with masquerade theme. Clever, is it him, isnt it him? It is one good example of a posthumous video and shows what can be done even though MJ is gone. This director had imagination. And look at the filming and lighting to set the mood, great art. It might not be to everyones taste but I liked this video.

This is more the direction I expect. I like this video. If I gave it a hard critique I think there are certain lighting situations and frames that could be improved. It has a few frames of lower budget feel, but it is creative and solid.
If this were my video theme, I would have gone a more historic retro Studio 54 setting, and used the same subtle appearances paralleling his time in New York and The Wiz to create more of a storyline. The storyline might be he is exploring around in a mask until the very end he takes over the floor while the boy the moon lowers from the ceiling with glitter and laser beams going everywhere. At the end he sneaks out the back door and exits alone down an alley…I’d have to build a storyboard and reflect on this

Btw, if you watch the Behind the Mask fan made version, that’s my theatre marquee with the movie letters spelling Michael. That video was sort of lame but it was harmless fun, I don’t consider it some official video attempt.
I did not care for the sax intro and crowd noise intro that Branca wanted thrown in. It felt misplaced

Would have been great if this video had got an official release. Also, including the masked dance group Jabbawockeez was an excellent idea. They naturally fit into the theme of the song and they would have added to its popularity. The little special effects for the masks in Scream and Stranger in Moscow was perfectly done. I agree, with a bit more editing it would have been a perfect video for that song.

Arya, have you ever seen Walt Disney’s gravesite at Forest Lawn in Glendale CA? At his memorial sits a Little Mermaid statue. The Little Mermaid was in the development soon after Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, but it never got produced. It was one of Walt’s favorite stories, but it wasn’t finally released until 1989, decades after Walt died. Kids and adults alike treasure that film.
And guess what, it wasn’t Walt’s story. It was written by Hans Christian Anderson, just as Frozen was originally written by Anderson.
Both of these incredible men of rare blessed talent had their legacies passed down and honored appropriately for many future generations.

Arya I dont get it when you talk about fans not getting past the negativity. Looking at the dIsney brand. MJ is probably the only pop star who has turned his name into a brand, the fact that MJ is not with us is no excuse for a video (if you want to call it that) which is shite. Most of the lesser pop stars on MTV make better videos than “place with no name” it was not even good enough to be compared to the MTV videos other pop stars make, forget comparing it to other MJ videos. No one was expecting a dancer who lit up every slab he stepped on, those cliches are becoming boring. But like the Disney example you needed pioneering work. I do not know much about Bayer but why were no big name directors being used, james cameron would be ideal.

I would want nothing more if James Cameron could step in and do something.. just ANYTHING for MJ. It would be a dream come true. He made a movie like Avatar a reality, giving strong environmental messages and mastered the motion capture technology. IMO, MJ would definitely have reached out to him. As for APWNN, I wouldn’t say it was the best work out there. But if this is the way the director interpreted the song, I have no complaints. What I really wanted to say is, the inclusion of behind the scenes footages and the way it was made to fit in the video is still commendable. I am glad he thought this out in a different manner. Going the traditional way of simply showcasing the lyrics into visuals would give us another “Hollywood Tonight” (Unless the director working behind it is James Cameron and thinks of something extraordinary). I wasn’t expecting anything groundbreaking anyway since most of the effort and money must have gone into making MJ’s hologram(illusion). The video that we got for APWNN still managed to please me. Each to their own I guess. “Behind the Mask” and even “Hold My Hand” are other good posthumous videos, ofcourse. If I have hopes for anything, it is for the title song “Xscape”. I definitely want an animated video with some really great imagination for that one.

I never expected any animation but I atleast expected a video with a storyline. Something that went with the song and its lyrics.

Now I feel Hollywood Tonight was a beautiful video. Atleast it had a storyline and the dance steps went with the music. They even managed to show Michael in all those boards (even though it was not unreleased footage, atleast he did not feel out of place like in the APWNN video)

My criticism is that the video does not add anything to the song. I wonder how many really watched it more than once .
If you compare it to musicvideos by obscure filmmakers made on low budget, most are more creative and captivating . And that is not good for the name of a man who made the musicvideo into short film.
Te ITC footage is not new, reminds too much of ITC and looks very random here . It can never compete with ITC anyway. They should not try to imitate him or use formats , but use their imagination.
If they have run out of ideas, why not make a competetion and ask fresh young flmmakers to propose their ideas instead of the usual suspects . Most of them would do it for free.
After the impersonator hologram, struggle tributes and other gimmicks I appreciate the unpretentious fanmade compilation videos even more.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ni869r8GyNU

F…k Estate and f…k Bayer.
Even Francis Lawrence who did VERY stylish and conceptual videos for Beyonce, Britney, Janet and more (google him) would have made a better job.
DAMN, what a waisted opportunity!!!

Never heard this song on any radio or media. Not a peep. Never saw a review of video good or bad because it was insignificant. Can’t find any editorials give than here because nobody cared.the song was hooky enough if released properly it would get airplay. It’s a good car radio tune.

From my own personal experience with a similar drug, everything you are going through sounds like &#02r8;no2mal” withdrawal symptoms. Just hang in there. Soon enough you will find yourself going back to feeling like a regular person again.

The Estate is either screwing up on purpose or they have no idea what the heck to do. I find myself wondering how well John Branca even knew MJ based on how the stuff they’re putting out doesn’t even feel MJish….I mean..wth… they managed to accomplish getting MJ’s spitrit across so well with This Is It, and now it’s like they forgot who Michael was, what he represented,. It makes no sense that TII was so good and everything else just isn’t. What the heck is goin on???

This Is It was put together by Kenny Ortega, Travis Payne and Michael Prince – three people Michael worked closely with on the project. The rest of the crap they’ve put out has been partially completed by people who never worked with MJ – some of whom never even MET him! Meanwhile those who actually knew him have been frozen out of the process. The fact that Brad Buxer has not been asked to contribute to ANY of the music they’ve released is an absolute outrage and completely indefensible.